I love my kids. Cyrus, our two-year-old boy, is a brilliant, hilarious, rambunctious little man. Eisley, our five-month-old daughter, is a happy, exuberant, and loving little girl. I think about their precious little faces and my heart melts. Every time I hold them I have to press my lips into their big, puffy cheeks. I can’t help it. They both have huge cheeks! (Five years ago, I never would have thought I’d be talking about things like this. My, how things change!) Last night was a tough night with the kids, though. 

There’s just something about freedom. Paul tells us that freedom is the very reason that Jesus set us free. Redundant? Not if we understand that freedom comes from the heart of God, and as such, freedom is an end in itself. Freedom is the will of God. But do we know what freedom really is?

As I was putting Cyrus to bed tonight I could tell that it was going to be a long time before he would fall asleep. Normally this would frustrate me, and I would huff and puff about how he doesn’t sleep even though he’s EXHAUSTED, and WHY DON’T YOU JUST ROLL OVER AND GO NIGH-NIGH! YOU’RE TIRED! YOU’RE DELIRIOUS WITH FATIGUE! SLEEP IS BECKONING AND YET YOU RESIST! ALL IN AN EFFORT TO FRUSTRATE ME, YOUR LOVING FATHER!

But the Lord has been working on me, and so tonight I decided that, rather than get angry, I would pray. And so I prayed out loud. It was just the two of us in the room, and he was quiet while I prayed. I prayed for everything I could think of, and he just laid there, tossing and turning occasionally. And then, as I paused to think, he started talking.

Now, when Cyrus talks, you just let him babble on until he gets to the last word of the sentence, which is really what he has been talking about all along, and the only word you can understand anyway. So he’s babbling on and then he says, clear as day, “Baby Eisley, Mommy, Daddy.” He was praying for us! My little two year old son was praying for his family! How amazing is this? How blessed am I? The Bible says that the prayer’s of a righteous man avail much. But what about the prayers of a little child? Even more, I suspect. I am truly blessed.

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

I’ve had an idea for a screenplay running around in my head for almost four years now. Back in 2004, while I was in Yosemite, I wrote almost 80 pages. But I’ve scrapped it all, started over, and have written 25 pages in the past three days. It feels like I’ve been pregnant with this idea for four years, and now I’m finally going into labor. (I’m sure my wife would point out that this is, in fact, nothing at all like that, and who am I to suggest such a thing.) Strangely enough, even though this is an R-rated script, I feel that writing it is an act of obedience to God. Whether or not it ever gets sold, the act of writing it, and finishing it, is and will be a huge step for me as I continue to grow and try to follow Jesus.
The best part about this process is how I’ve been collaborating with my wife on it. After the kids go to bed, we sit down and talk through the characters and events in the story. She gives me great feedback like, “I don’t think she would do that, no matter how much of a bitch she’s supposed to be.” (I know, she totally has a foul mouth.) She’s also being a really great listener, and I find myself going on and on about random little details in the story. This process has been great for our marriage as we do something fun and creative together. I love that the script is ours, and not just mine.